The tirades of Hein Vanhaezebrouck could be heard all the way through Sclessin. At KAA Gent they felt cheated on a visit to Standard after a questionable red card for Vadis, two disallowed goals and a penalty that was not received. In the absolute end, things went well for the Buffalos thanks to a blunder from Bodart. Tissoudali headed in the winning goal. Also the end of Luka Elsner at the Rouches?
Standard – AA Gent in a nutshell:
- Key moment: Just before half time, Vadis receives a red card after a VAR intervention. Unbeknownst to him, he steps on the ankle of the falling Tapsoba, but ref Lardot is relentless.
- Remarkable: Gent had to score three times before the 0-1 was on the board. Ghent’s second opening goal was rightly rejected, but there are clear doubts about the first. After that, it also didn’t get a penalty when a falling Bokadi kept the ball out of the goal with his arm.
- Man of the match: A big compliment to Ghent, which played an entire half with one man less. Kudos to Ngadeu, who defused just about every Standard attack in the back.
- Statistics: Hein Vanhaezebrouck has not been able to win at Sclessin for 6 years. Not with Anderlecht and not with Ghent, which succeeded twice with Thorup. It was a lot of work, but Vanhaezebrouck has finally put an end to that negative series.
No goal, but a red card for Ghent thanks to the VAR
While home and away supporters overland returned to the football stadiums, it remained painfully quiet at Sclessin. The supporters had to thank themselves for this, but they showed themselves just outside the stadium walls with the necessary rockets and bombs.
Just like Standard’s nice start, the noise from their supporters quickly died down. Gent pulled back and took the lead halfway through the first half thanks to Tissoudali. Only the VAR had seen Depoitre offside in the build-up of the goal, even though the ball was still touched by a player from Standard. In Ghent they felt cheated.
That feeling only grew when Tapsoba only received a yellow card after a blow to Hanche-Olsen’s shin. The frustration was complete when Vadis was shown a red card after a VAR intervention after he ended up on his ankle in a duel with the same Tapsoba with the studs on his ankle.
Tissoudali’s valid hit takes the VAR focus off a bit
After the break, a ten-strong Gent didn’t opt blindly for the attack, but it took the lead again. Depoitre’s header was initially saved by Bodart, but in the restart Torunarigha scored the 0-1. The German did that from an offside position and the VAR could officially confirm that after a few minutes.
In between, Standard also got a chance when Carcela kicked a free kick into the feet of Sissako, but Sissako in turn kicked a hole in the air. After that we had to quickly go to the other side, because once again Ghent had reason to complain. While falling, Bokadi kept a scored goal with his arm out of the goal, but this time the VAR was deafeningly silent. A natural attitude in the trap, seemed to be the verdict.
We were already looking forward to the reaction of Hein Vanhaezebrouck and the explanation of the Referee Department, but just before time Gent managed to debunk the situation definitively. Bodart couldn’t control a shot from Hjulsager and could only watch with pain as Tissoudali headed in the rebound at the far post. Definitive this time and Standard had no answer even in the added six minutes.
For example, the fate of Standard coach Elsner seems to have been completely settled and the players were also clearly upset after the umpteenth setback of the season. Gent in turn approaches 3 points from Anderlecht and 4 from Antwerp. That will be an interesting end to the regular competition.
